Bristol City state ambition with the signing of David James

David James has given The Robins the thumbs up on a surprise move to the Championship club

Bristol City have confirmed that they have captured the signature of England goalkeeper David James on a free transfer. James has put pen-to-paper on a one-year deal with the club, a move that is a sure signal of The Robins’ ambition this season. James, who turns 40 this weekend, took over England’s goalkeeping mantle at the World Cup following Robert Green’s embarrassing howler against the USA in England’s opening game of the tournament. He was one of a minority of players that escaped criticism on return from South Africa, and now has his sights firmly set on helping Bristol City achieve promotion into the Premier League.

A statement on the club's official website read:

Bristol City FC have agreed a deal to sign England international goalkeeper David James. The 39-year old passed a medical at Ashton Gate today (Friday) and has agreed a one-year deal with an option of a further year.

James turned down interest from SPL runners-up Celtic as well as Steve Bruce’s Sunderland to become a part of the setup at Ashton Gate, and has confirmed that the chance to be a part of an historic period at the club was too good an opportunity to pass by. “I know all about the plans for a new stadium and desire to win promotion to the Premier League”, James said. “The club is ambitious and that is what I am”.

Many people expected James to make the move north and join Neil Lennon at Celtic, but having called off negotiations due to ‘personal problems’, James has decided that his future belongs in England, and for the time being, in Bristol. This is certainly the first small step towards achieving what City narrowly missed out on last season, as a poor start to the 2008/09 campaign ultimately cost them a place in the play-offs. They eventually went on to finish a very respectable 10th, but chairman Steve Lansdown and manager Steve Coppell will be aiming for better this time around.

There is certainly a fair amount of money knocking around at Bristol City, and Steve Lansdown is very clear on where he wants his club to be.

My ambition is for this football club to play at the highest level – the Premier League – and in the best surroundings, hence the work on the training ground and the new stadium. We need good quality players to make that happen and that’s why I’m thrilled that David has agreed to come on board.

So what do we think – Can Bristol City launch another play-off challenge or was last season as good as it will get for them? Vote at wdkf.co.uk!

Blackpool may have difficulty in shaking off the 'jokers' tag, but could it play to their advantage?

This may come to be a familiar sight throughout the coming months as Ian Holloway prepares for his first PL campaign as a manager

Blackpool is best known for its pleasure beach, arcades, and thousands of bald-headed, sunburnt British tourists that flock to the seaside each year. You wouldn’t automatically associate Blackpool with football, and you certainly wouldn’t have predicted this time last year that they had a realistic chance of reaching the play-offs, let alone actually gaining promotion to the Premier League. A relegation battle would have been a more customary suggestion, with a low to mid-table finish the ultimate objection. But Ian Holloway built a team combining youthful exuberance and a die-hard work ethic, and throughout the duration of the 2009/10 season, Holloway and his men slowly but surely began to prove everybody wrong. Now, they are on the verge of embarking on their first ever Premier League journey.

William Hill have Blackpool at 4/5 to finish bottom of the PL this season, whilst their odds to stay in the division are 11/4. On paper, Blackpool are sure-fire favourites to go straight back down, but it’s a label that could well work in their favour. Ian Holloway is a very stubborn manager, and a very stubborn man. He’s arguably one of the most honest men in the game, and whilst he’s voiced his concerns over the strength and depth of his squad in recent days, he also insisted that people shouldn’t write them off. As we witnessed last season, Blackpool defeated the odds and the opinion of most football fans across the country, to reach a remarkable achievement in the club’s recent history. Who’s to say they can’t overachieve once more?

Naturally teams find it very difficult to adjust to life in the Premier League, with the odd exception. In Reading’s first season in the top flight they performed admirably and above all expectations to reach an astounding 8th position in the league. Unfortunately for them, relegation loomed the very next season and they were back in the Championship. Stoke City are another team who have risen to the occasion of playing against the Manchester United’s and Chelsea’s of this world, and to this day remain very sturdy opposition in England’s top flight. Blackpool aren’t expected to be as successful as those two clubs in their first season, and they’d be foolish to aim any higher than surviving their first PL season. Indeed, I’m sure that is all Ian Holloway has his sights set on, but he knows he needs to add a number of new names to his rather small first team squad.

It’s very clear that Holloway’s personality and football character has somewhat rubbed off on his players over the last 12 months or so. Indeed, the team’s work rate is reminiscent of the way Holloway likes to work, although it would be unfair to dismiss his style of play on the field. Make no bones about it, Holloway likes his teams to play football on the deck, contrary to regular opinion of football league sides, the majority of which prefer a more direct, long-ball approach. Holloway is not that kind of manager. When asked on Sky Sports News whether he would have to abandon that style of play from time to time in the Premier League, Holloway replied, “you mean stop playing football on the deck and start hoofing it up in the air? If that’s what you mean by abandon”. It was a typical Holloway response, and one that suggests he is determined to keep moulding his side into the product that he prefers, rather than the one that would have the best chance of succeeding in the top flight.

West Brom are another of the promoted sides along with Newcastle United, and they are a side who also prefer to play their football on the grass. However, that style of play may well have flattered many in the Championship, but when it has come down to Premier League football, The Albion have been lacking something extra to keep them in the division. As a result, they have come to be known as the ‘yo-yo’ team of English football. For Blackpool to work as a unit in the Premier League, and to avoid any potential embarrassment at the hands of the bigger teams, they’ll need to show more fight and determination than West Brom have in previous seasons. However, I don’t think that will be a problem, as Ian Holloway has always been a stickler for work-rate and a winning attitude.

The one thing that may work in Blackpool’s favour is the ‘new boy’s’ tag. Few of the current Premier League sides know too much about Blackpool, and whilst they’ll all do their research before taking on the division’s newest side, Blackpool’s x-factor could be the fact that they are an unknown entity. They will also have excellent support, despite possessing the smallest stadium in the league, and no doubt the fans will get right behind their team when Sir Alex Ferguson and Carlo Ancelotti turn up at Bloomfield Road. Opposition sides can expect a hostile, unwelcoming atmosphere, and this may be something that unnerves and unsettles visiting sides. Blackpool would love that to be the case, but there is no hiding the fact that they have to sign 5 or 6 decent players to have any chance of staying alive in the PL. As we know against teams such as Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham, if you don’t have a well-organised, efficient defensive line, you’ll have problems, as Wigan found out to their embarrassment against Spurs at White Hart Lane last season as they went on to lose a record 9-1. Wigan are far from being Premier League new boys now, having gained promotion back in the 2004/05 season. That probably further highlights the importance of being solid at the back, something that I know Blackpool are in the process of addressing with the potential signing of Dekel Keinan from Israeli giants Maccabi Haifa.

If Ian Holloway didn’t know it already, Blackpool’s pre-season campaign has alerted him to the problems his side may face if they enter the season without adding to their squad.  Holloway has also been struck with the news that Billy Clarke is likely to miss the entire season with damaged cruciate ligaments. 22-year old Clarke is highly rated in the Blackpool ranks and he may prove to be a big miss for them come April and May next year.

I’m sure that if Ian Holloway had a fully-fit, stronger squad, he’d be showing far more confidence in Blackpool’s ability to defeat the odds in the Premier League this season, but there are a couple of things that could work in their favour. To survive their first season in the PL, they’ll need a great deal of effort, a whole lot of luck, and a committed, understanding fanbase behind them. Good luck to them!

Javier Mascherano to quit Anfield; Inter Milan remain favoured destination

Mascha and teammate Fernando Torres after Liverpool's 2-1 victory over Marseille in the Champions League in the 2008/09 season

Fernando Torres’ future is still very much up in the air. He may stay, he may go. One member of the squad that Roy Hodgson can be certain wants to leave Anfield this summer is Argentina captain Javier Mascherano who is unsettled on Merseyside. It is believed that Mascha wants a reunion with ex-Reds boss Rafael Benitez, who is now the manager of Italian giants Inter Milan.

In a statement to the press, Hodgson said:

Yes, he wants to leave the club. He has made that perfectly clear. I think he wanted to leave a year ago. He wants to leave now but he is contracted to Liverpool so whether he leaves or not will not be our decision.

Whilst it is not 100% that the tenacious midfielder will quit Liverpool before the end of the current transfer window, usually when a player states his desire to move on, the deal happens. Now, despite many of the current crop of players voicing their concerns over their personal treatment during the Rafael Benitez regime, Mascherano is one of the very few players to stick by the Spaniard, and now has his sights set on making the move to San Siro.

Liverpool’s American owners, George Gillet and Tom Hicks, would be foolish to keep Mascha at the club. They’d also be foolish to let him leave for less than £25mill, especially to a club like Inter Milan who are
currently in talks with Manchester City over the sale of £30mill-rated Mario Balotelli. It seems that the sale of the controversial forward would fund the potential deal to bring Mascherano to Italy, meaning that the Liverpool board should be looking for a deal worth in excess of £25mill. Anything less, and there would be substantial uproar against the owners, something they are not unfamiliar with.

Mascherano has been a fantastic servant to Liverpool throughout the 3 years he has been with the club. Despite not winning any silverware at Liverpool, he played vital roles in the 2007 Champions League campaign that saw Liverpool reach their 2nd final in three years, and also in the 2008/09 Premier League season, a season in which Liverpool came agonizingly close to winning their first title in 19 years.

Unfortunately for Liverpool, last season Mascherano was one of the many players who failed to reproduce the goods from the season before, and a lack of form coupled with a typically unhealthy disciplinary rate on the field means that this summer is probably the right time for Masch to call time on his Anfield career. As much as I rate him as a footballer, and think he was one of the few excellent players Rafael Benitez brought to Liverpool, £30mill could be used to bring in two or three top-class players to replace him and fill in a couple of the other vacant positions that are present in the Liverpool squad. It may also be a chance for Alberto Aquilani and Lucas to really come to the fore and show what they can do as first team regulars.

People may draw comparisons to the sale of Xabi Alonso in 2009, a sale that proved to be a massive loss for Liverpool last season. The fee received for that particular deal was also £30mill, which was spent on Roma’s Aquilani who spent the majority of the campaign on the sidelines with various injuries. Whether that was a wise piece of business is open for debate and may well be confirmed in the next 3 or 4 months, but Aqua will certainly be determined to prove his worth on Merseyside this year. The difference between the Xabi Alonso sale and any potential deal taking Mascherano to Milan, is that Alonso was playing the best football of his career and was a linchpin in the Liverpool team. Mascherano is probably not quite at that stage, and whilst I agree he was a very important cog in Rafa’s system, now is definitely the time for him to move on and for new manager Roy Hodgson to start the search for a worthy replacement.

As a Mascherano supporter, I’d like to wish him the best of luck if he does make the much expected move to Inter Milan, and hope that one day he returns to Anfield to a warm welcome and deserved applause.

A little less conversation, a little more Torres please: Why Liverpool's prize asset has no choice but to stay at Anfield

Fernando Torres quickly established himself as fans' favourite at Anfield

Whenever Liverpool fans read a news headline boasting the name Fernando Torres, their heart usually sinks and they let out a dull sigh of resignation. “Torres to Chelsea”, “Torres to Manchester City”, “Torres to Real Madrid”. Same old, same old. But don’t fret Reds’ fans, I’m here to inject a bit of optimism into the situation. Fernando Torres won’t be leaving Liverpool this summer, and here’s why.

As the whole world witnessed at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Torres was out of sorts. He had a tournament to forget, culminating in tearing a thigh muscle in the closing minutes of Spain’s victorious final victory over Holland. That particular moment was almost symbolic of the rollercoaster year or two that Torres has experienced; a World Cup final appearance and winner’s medal, overshadowed by a goal drought and yet another muscle injury right about summed up the last 18 months in the career of Fernando Torres. It was enough to make Liverpool supporters everywhere spit up their dinner and reside to the bedroom for an early night. However, as daft as it may seem, it may have been a blessing in disguise for the Reds in the face of intense interest from Chelsea and Manchester City.

Before the tournament began Chelsea were prepared to pay £50mill for the emphatic striker, and the deal seemed inevitable. A 7th-place finish and a sour end to Rafael Benitez’s career looked as if it would also spell the end of the road for Torres as a Liverpool player. Immediately after the conclusion of that historic final however, Chelsea’s interest waned and they are no longer in the front-running to sign Torres. It seemed that a lack of form, coupled by frequent long-term injuries caused Ancelotti and his troops to turn their focus elsewhere. One has to wonder, if Torres has netted 5 or 6 goals and played more of an integral part in Spain’s triumph, would he still be a Liverpool player as we speak? This also causes me to believe that Manchester City would only sign Torres as a last possible option, and with the money knocking around at Eastlands this summer, that situation looks unlikely to occur. I wonder if Manchester City fans would be happy for their club to spill out £40-50mill to bring an out-of-form, injury-prone striker to their club when the money could be used on a much fitter, much happier player? Perhaps they would, and perhaps Roberto Mancini would be that ruthless, but with the news that City have to ship out at least 12 players before the transfer window closes, and with James Milner and Mario Balotelli likely to arrive at Eastlands in the near future, I should think Torres is last on Mancini’s list of priorities.

As well as the question of fitness and form comes the question of game-time. I’ve raised the point in the past regarding James Milner’s potential decision to join City, and whether he would become a regular member of Mancini’s side. In my view, Milner’s role at the club would be as a squad player, someone who will occupy the substitute’s bench until injuries and suspensions started to clock up, and only then would he get his chance to perform. The same goes for Torres. Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor will be very hard to shunt, whilst David Silva and Mario Balotelli are just two of the other potential attacking options Mancini will have at his disposal. Of course, there is the obvious attraction of money, and Torres would be offered a substantial amount. However, surely Torres would be more content at playing week-in-week-out (providing he’s fully fit) for a club that worships him like a god, and gives him a fairly decent wage despite Liverpool’s much-publicised financial troubles. I would hope so being a Torres and a Liverpool fan. If he wants regular football and an adoring fanbase, Liverpool is the place for him.

The problem at the moment is the constant lack of certainty surrounding the Spaniard and Liverpool Football Club as a whole. Roy Hodgson is still waiting for Torres to commit himself, or not as the case may be, to the club, and until he does just that, it’s difficult for the new Anfield boss to make his plans and bring in a couple of new faces. There is also the small matter of the transfer fee that Torres would require, which I’ve already mentioned would be in excess of £40-50mill. With none of that money to work with just yet, Hodgson can’t act to bring in a high-quality replacement for Torres, or indeed fill in a couple of the positions that need strengthening before the big kick-off on August 15th. As much as I understand Fernando has a big decision to make, still being unsure two-and-a-half weeks before the season begins isn’t an ideal situation for the manager. However, it is also due to the length of time Torres has taken to make his mind up that I believe his final decision will be to stay at Liverpool. If he desperately wanted to leave the club, he would have at least made it clear that was his ambitious. In fact, he probably still wouldn’t be with us today, and I think that tells a lot about his feeling and love for the fans of the club. Whilst he’s voiced his concerns over the treatment of some of the players, including himself, during the Rafael Benitez regime, he’s always had a special affection for the Anfield faithful, and vice versa. Hopefully that will be enough to keep Torres at Liverpool.

If it isn’t, then there’s always the ideas and plans that Roy Hodgson is putting in place at his new club. Through the transfer of Joe Cole, Hodgson has already persuaded Steven Gerrard that his future lies at his beloved local club, and the 62-year old will be praying that it will have the same affect on his influential talisman. Last season, the support to Torres was nothing more than average, with the likes of Dirk Kuyt, Lucas and even Gerrard himself not delivering the goods as expected. Not only with the signing of Joe Cole, but also with the arrival of Serbian international Milan Jovanovic, plus the potential deal to bring Rafael van der Vaart to the club may be enough to keep Torres on Merseyside, and ultimately get Liverpool back into the top four and challenging for honours again.

So there you are Liverpool fans, don’t worry about a thing. For the aforementioned reasons, I believe Fernando Torres will remain a Liverpool player for the foreseeable future, and our wonderful club will be in great shape to get back amongst the Chelsea’s and Manchester United’s of this world next season. You’ll never walk alone!

Who is the greatest manager of all time?

Chelsea central defender and Real Madrid target Ricardo Carvalho has stated his desire to join up with former-boss Jose Mourinho at the Santiago Bernabeu. Carvalho also described Mourinho as the "greatest manager in the history of football". This got me thinking. Who is the greatest manager ever?

Below are the four men I consider to be among the best of the best in football management, and now it's your chance to vote for your favourite. The poll will be closed when votes stop coming in, and the winner will have the honour of being named Article 2010's greatest ever manager!

(If you vote for 'none of the above', please state your own choice in the comment box).

Who is the greatest manager of all time? Jose Mourinho Sir Alex Ferguson Sir Alf Ramsey Brian Clough None of the above View results

(If preferred, you can vote at wdkf.co.uk)

Can Manchester City win the League or is it a case of too many cooks?

Yaya Toure is one of Roberto Mancini's superstar signings this summer

I’m certainly not the first person to start a discussion as to whether Manchester City will be good enough to challenge for the Premier League title this season, nor will I be the last. Until it is mathematically impossible, and until either Chelsea or Manchester United lift their 4th or 12th respective trophies, people won’t stop debating. Even then attentions will turn to the 2011/2012 season and whether City can strengthen their squad and push for honours again. Since the high-profile takeover of the club in 2007, the days of questioning City’s credentials as a Premier League club are long gone, and mid-table expectancies are a distant memory. The talk has now switched to top four, Champions League, and champions of England. Last season City came ever so close to breaching the once unbreachable ‘big four’, that thanks to Liverpool no longer exists. It’s now the ‘big three and whoever else is good enough to join them’, but unfortunately for City, last season belonged to Tottenham, and it will be Harry Redknapp’s side that will have the chance to compete with Barcelona and Inter Milan in Europe’s biggest competition.

Whilst it’s extremely possible that Manchester City can go one better this season, I’m still unconvinced that they are potential challengers to Chelsea and their Manchester rivals. Of course, every Manchester City fan and follower will tell you that they have as good a chance as anyone. That’s what they’d like to believe. However, life is divided into two types of people; The idealists and the realists. I have the feeling that every one of those City fans falls into the idealist bracket, and the reality is they are still not a team capable of putting together a serious march to the summit of the Premier League. Indeed, it is a fantastic time for Manchester City and their fans. It’s a very exciting period in their history as a football club and they have every right to be ambitious, optimistic, and idealistic. I’m not here to be an ideal. I’m here to be real.

City’s spending this season has been typically outlandish. Yaya Toure, Jerome Boateng, David Silva and now Aleksandr Kolarov have arrived at Eastlands in big money deals, and you wouldn’t bet on them stopping there. James Milner and Landon Donovan are two other potential signings that could add to the sizeable roster City already have on their books. Those are some fantastic names I’ve just mentioned, and some superb footballers. They arrive at the club with huge reputations to live up to, and face the challenge of integrating into a side that isn’t all too familiar with each other. There’s my problem. The Premier League consists of 38 matches, each of which nowadays is a solid obstacle to defeat. 38 matches is a lot of time for a team to be found out, and for weaknesses to start showing. 38 matches divides the teams from the individuals, and at this stage of their rapid progression as a football club, Manchester City are not yet a fully functional, well-oiled unit. They are a squad made up a number of individual stars, who on their own terms are good enough to play for anyone. Football isn’t an individual sport. It’s not tennis, it’s not golf. It’s a team game. Yes, it may all sound very cliché, but so be it. These are the facts.

You may argue that a 5th-place finish last season was a fantastic effort from a side I’m branding as not yet a team. Nevertheless, you would expect 5th place as a minimum for a team consisting of the likes of Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor, Robinho and the rest. To better a 5th-place finish is a monumental task, one which City fans shouldn’t take for granted. I may well be very wrong come the end of the season, but analysing City’s situation at this stage, I would say I won’t be. It takes time for foreign players to adjust to the ‘English way’, and to adapt to the infamous pace of the Premier League. It takes double the time to settle into a team that has not played a great deal of games together, especially when 4 or 5 players arrive at the same time. In a 38-game season, you cannot afford to miss out on 6 or 7 games through the need to gel and bond as a team, especially when your priorities lie at the top. Pre-season friendlies are designed to give the players a chance to do exactly that, but with City bringing in a player a week at the moment, it isn’t an easy task. Having seen the highlights of their first friendly of the campaign against Sporting Lisbon in New York, it is evident that a lot of work needs to be done, and whilst I understand that pre-season friendlies are a useful tool to scrape all the rust off and get the mistakes out of the way, time is ticking before the Premier League season kicks off, and the pressure is on Roberto Mancini and his troops to make sure they are in the best possible frame, both physically and tactically, to make their much expected challenge for the title.

Having assessed what may prove to be the downfall of Manchester City this season, I cannot escape what has to be the catalyst for what they hope to be is their best ever Premier League season. That catalyst would be the strength-in-depth that they clearly possess, a tool that comes to be very useful in football today. With so many matches in a season, particularly with increased European and cup participation, to have 3 or 4 players who can play in every position is a real luxury, and whilst some teams may struggle with that aspect of their dynamics, City have the guarantee that they’re progress won’t be slowed by injuries and suspensions. At least, it is their’s to throw away. If used correctly and at the right times, then silverware is a very realistic objective. If neglected and if Roberto Mancini sees no benefit in using his whole quota of players, Champions League possibilities could slip away.

Shay Given and Joe Hart are two top-class goalkeepers who should enjoy a hefty tussle for the number 1 jersey throughout the next 12 months or so. Micah Richards, Nedum Onuoha, Pablo Zabaleta and Jerome Boateng should keep each other occupied in the full-back slots, whilst Wayne Bridge will have to fight off new signing Kolarov for the left-back berth. Vincent Kompany, Kolo Toure, Joleon Lescott and Dedryck Boyata are all contenders to play at the heart of the defence, meaning that Mancini has at least 10 defensive options at his disposal. The Italian also has his fair share of options on the wings with Silva, Bellamy, Wright-Phillips and Adam Johnson in the mix, plus youngster Vladimir Weiss who may well find himself loaned out of Eastlands for a second consecutive season.

With the arrival of Yaya Toure, Nigel de Jong and Gareth Barry will be kept on their toes, whilst Stephen Ireland, Michael Johnson and Patrick Vieira will be used in a more box-to-box role. Up-front, the City fans have the joy of watching Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor and Jo ply their trade, leaving Roque Santa Cruz to twiddle his thumbs and ultimately look for another club. His injury-corrupted career has done him no favours in the scheme of things at City.

So, there’s a lot to choose from for Mancini, who will have his work cut out to keep everyone happy at City. Still, he’d rather that than have a small group of unmotivated players on his hands, and how he deals with a first team squad containing more than 35 players will be the key to any success City will have this season.

What do we think folks? Are they living in dream land or is it plausible to say they’ll be the new name engraved on the Premier League trophy in May 2011?

New decade, new era for Manchester United, but what exactly will the future hold for the next generation?

Danny Welbeck is one of the many bright talents looking to make the break into the United first team

  

With another season on the horizon, and teams up and down the country gearing up for what they hope will be a successful season in their respective divisions, I investigate whether Manchester United's dominance in the Premier League in the last decade is at risk with a number of ageing stars reaching the end of their tether.

Manchester United's success since England's top division was re-branded the Premier League has been in no small part down to the contributions of the generation that produced Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville. Arguably, the introduction of Giggs was the kickstart for what would be a remarkable period in the history of Manchester United. Upon Giggs' breakthrough from the youth ranks in 1990, and having not won a major trophy since Sir Alex Ferguson's appointment in 1986, United started to turn the table. Not only had United not won anything since lifting the FA Cup in '86, but Sir Alex's search for a left winger since Jesper Olsen departed in '88 had been more difficult than he would have hoped. The impact Giggs was to have, therefore, was more significant than it may seem. He came into a side during a barren spell of success as United's big hope and a player that would be expected to play a part in regaining United's status as a major force in English football.

At the very same time, Paul Scholes was still making his way through the various ranks at youth team level, before joining United as a trainee in 1991. He didn't turn professional until 1993, and with United now back to their customary winning ways, he found it difficult to emerge as a recognised first team player. Indeed, it took him the best part of a season to force his way into Sir Alex's plans, and he made a long-awaited debut in a 2-1 victory over Port Vale in a League Cup encounter in September 1994. He also managed to play a small part in the FA Cup final that very same season, coming off the bench against Everton in a match United lost 1-0. However, thanks to the departure of Mark Hughes who made the much disdained move to Chelsea, Scholes was to make his first impact as a United player the next season.

Whereas Giggs was responsible for catalysing a new era of success at Old Trafford during the early 1990's, one may say that Scholes consolidated and supported that position. Together, Giggs and Scholes developed a partnership that would prove to make up one of the greatest midfield combinations, certainly in Premier League history. Of course, Roy Keane and David Beckham were the two other pieces that slotted into that particular jigsaw.

Over a decade on from the early days of Giggs and Scholes and United are farming through a new generation of starlets. However, as the Premier League continues to grow in stature and with competition amongst clubs as fierce as ever, can United's new breed be as effective and influential as Messrs. Giggs and Scholes were in the '90's?

We have seen a glimpse of what United's youngsters have to offer, with brief cameos from players such as Federico Macheda and Danny Welbeck in the last 12 to 18 months. There is quite obviously a great deal of talent there, something that can be developed and matured through the transition into the first team. What the aforementioned names and their teenage counterparts have in their favour is the opportunity to learn from the likes of Scholes, Giggs, and Gary Neville, something that generally speeds up the maturing process. Whilst that trio of United greats is nearing the end of their respective careers and beginning to think about what comes next, their value and influence on the team today is still vital in ensuring United's transition into a new era is as smooth and positive as possible. Very often, sports teams fail to inhabit change correctly, and it is extremely easy to fall down the ladder and drop into the sporting abyss for the next 20 to 30 years. A perfect example of that would be the West Indian cricket team, who are a shadow of the force they were in the mid-20th century when superstars such as Sir Garfield Sobers and Sir Viv Richards were gracing the cricket scene.

The difference between the change of today and the change of yesteryear is the success that United have experienced inbetween. As I mentioned, when Ryan Giggs began his blossoming United career 19 years ago, the shelves in the Old Trafford trophy cabinets have become a little dusty. Now, trophies arrive at the Theatre of Dreams as regularly as Wayne Rooney appears on the back page of the tabloids. The challenge for Danny Welbeck and co. is to slot into a fully functioning unit and ensure that the process of winning trophies and challenging for the title is not halted. Unfortunately for United, Sir Alex Ferguson is also reaching the end of his journey as the longest-serving United manager in history, and being one of the world's greatest man-managers and tacticians, the men behind the scenes will have one hell of a job on their hands to find a replacement capable of carrying on the work that Fergie leaves behind. However, being Manchester United, you can't help but feel that they simply will find that man.

The modern way is to send your young guns out on loan to clubs in a lower division, in order to give them the chance to experience what competitive first team football is all about. It's all very well turning out for the reserves and youth teams week in week out, but there's no substitute for the real thing. Fergie has recently said that he would like Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley to get some first team action under their belts, and you can't think it will be too long before a Championship club comes calling for their ability.

Many of United's Premier League counterparts can only look on in awe at the talent of some of the players they hold in their academy sides, but sometimes talent alone isn't good enough. Being a Liverpool fan I will be very interested to see how United cope through their transition in the next 4 or 5 years, whether those players dubbed the next Rooney and the next Giggs can become exactly that, or if the weight of expectation and challenge of the ever-progressing Premier League will be too much for them to handle. Of course, every side in the world has to go through periods like this, and some will be more successful than others. Being the club that they are, you have to feel that Manchester United's progression in the next few years will be more successful than others, and whilst it's easy for me to say that there may be a few stumbling blocks along the way, history suggests that United will do just fine, and those stumbling blocks will prove to be nothing more than the inevitable learning curve that every player experiences in their career.

Hodgson adds Scottish star to summer spending

Roy Hodgson has backed up the signing of England international Joe Cole by bringing in 18-year old Rangers centre-half Danny Wilson. The deal to sign the Scottish starlet is reported to be an initial £2mill with future incentives taking the total sum up to £5mill.

It has been a fantastic 10 months for Wilson, who made his debut for Rangers in the League Cup against Dundee United in October 2009. He also became Rangers’ youngest ever European representative when he started a game against Unirea Urziceni in the Champions League at the age of 17 years and 312 days.

That was just the start of things for Wilson, who in a superb debut season went on to win the Scottish Football Writer’s Young Player of the Year, Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year and Rangers’ Supporters Young Player of the Year awards. Such accolades clearly alerted the attentions of the big guns such as Liverpool, who showed interest in the versatile defender when Rafael Benitez was still in charge. Despite Benitez’s departure, the Reds continued their interest in Wilson and will now make him their 2nd British signing of the summer subject to a medical.

Cole signing sparks renewed optimism on Merseyside

Joe Cole has already been a great lift to Liverpool

Joe Cole's unexpected venture into the realms of Liverpool Football Club has got the Reds' fans drooling at the prospect, but whilst there is renewed optimism and hope surrounding Liverpool 24 hours on, there is no hiding the fact that Cole alone will not be enough for Liverpool to challenge for honours again this forthcoming season.

When a club makes a signing as exciting and beneficial as this particular transfer, it is easy for people to forget that it takes 11 to tango on a football pitch, and whilst I will join the thousands of Liverpool fans out there in saying that this is an extremely positive move, I will also warn people of the frailty of the rest of the squad. On paper, at least, Liverpool look much stronger going forward, thanks not only to the arrival of Cole, but also to the signature of Serbian international Milan Jovanovic, a player brought to the club by Rafa Benitez. Time will tell as to whether Rafa's last foray into the transfer market at Liverpool was a profitable or a questionable one, but for the time being I am content with Jovanovic as a Liverpool man.

All of a sudden, with the scribble of one name on a piece of paper, and the addition of one more pair of boots in the dressing room, there appear to be so many more options in attack. Cole is a very versatile player, as is Jovanovic for that matter. They can both play wide left, or in behind the striker, who is of course Fernando Torres. Indeed, Torres had a very disappointing World Cup in South Africa, culminating in yet another muscle tear in the final minutes of the final in Johannesburg. However, with support from Cole, Jovanovic and of course Steven Gerrard, perhaps it'll be easier than first feared for Torres to re-capture the form that has made him such a hero on the terraces at Anfield. Jovanovic himself can lead the line if for whatever reason Torres is unavailable for selection, and with Javier Mascherano, Lucas and Alberto Aquilani all in the running for the central midfield positions, there's plenty to choose from for new manager Roy Hodgson.

However, I'm going to let go of the positives for a second and take a look at the positions Hodgson should be most concerned about. Firstly, we have no senior left-back. Stephen Darby is the only realistic option for that position, and you certainly wouldn't sacrifice Daniel Agger's aerial ability, nor his defensive prowess to stick him out in unfamiliar territory, as Benitez did towards the end of last season, to little effect. The release of Fabio Aurelio, and the sale of Emiliano Insua to Fiorentina leaves Hodgson deprived of ideas in that area of the field, and one feels he will have to do a lot of work in the transfer market to bring in a suitable replacement for the aforementioned names. Former Tottenham and current Switzerland full-back Reto Ziegler has emerged as the latest candidate for the role, whilst Marseille's Taye Taiwo is another name that has been mentioned. Of course, it is still far too early in the transfer window to make any definitive suggestions, but it seems most likely that one of those two will be a Liverpool player come August 14th, and the opening Premier League fixture against Arsenal at Anfield.

Clearly, filling the left-back void vacated by Aurelio and Insua must be a priority, and I am also concerned about the opposite side of the defence, occupied currently by Glen Johnson, who didn't exactly set the world alight in South Africa this Summer. For too long, he has been branded a player who is excellent going forward, but vulnerable in defence. That has to change. For Liverpool to be a challenging force again in the Premier League, as well as in Europe don't forget, we have to have an unbreachable defence and I don't believe Glen Johnson to be the player to ensure that happens. Bringing in a player that is more adept and secure in the defensive third would offer Roy Hodgson the luxury of shoring up the backline and preventing the big teams from causing the same sort of problems that they did last season.

Finally, a second striker and therefore a potential partner for Fernando Torres is a necessity, and something that I know Roy Hodgson is setting his priorities for. Loic Remy, the France and Nice striker is a strong link at the moment, although with a bid already on the table from West Ham, and further interest from Tottenham, it is anybody's guess as to where Remy will end up this season. What is obvious is that no team can win trophies with just one top-class striker in their ranks. Defoe, Pavlyuchenko and Crouch at Tottenham. Rooney, Berbatov and Hernandez at Manchester United. Tevez and Adebayor at Manchester City. These are the big teams, and these are the teams Liverpool need to be challenging in the 2010/11 season. With one striker, it's not going to happen. Two strikers is essential.

I'm a huge fan of Joe Cole, both on the pitch and off it. I think he'll be a star at Liverpool and I'm sure he'll become a fans favourite as quickly as Torres became when he first arrived in England. However, I'm still concerned about Liverpool as a squad, and I hope that the areas I have pinpointed in this article will be addressed by Roy Hodgson sooner or later and Liverpool can set about their mission to break back in to the top 4 this season.